HOHENWALD, Tenn. - In an instant, the elephant
with the docile name of Winkie lashed
out at the woman who fed her, gave her water to drink, loved her
and solicited prayers for her.

"In 45 seconds it was over. It just happened so quickly,''
said Scott Blais, who was there last Friday morning in a remote
section of The Elephant Sanctuary's 2,200 acres when Winkie knocked
down Joanna Burke, 36, then stepped on her, killing the experienced
handler almost instantly.

Blais spoke publicly for the first time about the incident at a
midday press conference Monday outside
the Sanctuary's gates in rural Lewis County.

The pair of elephant handlers was on
morning water patrol, giving the animals
a squirt from a water hose attached to
a portable tank, when the attack occurred.

Blais said there was nothing in the animal's
demeanor that indicated something was
amiss.

"There was not a moment when I knew that something was wrong,
that maybe we should back up,'' he said.

Carol Burke, left,
holds husband Paul Burke's hand during
a news conference
Monday about the
death of their daughter Joanna Burke,
an elephant caregiver
at The Elephant
Sanctuary in Hohenwald. (Sanford
Myers / The Tennesean)

Facilities Director Scot Blais' left
ankle was broken when he tried to
save elephant caregiver Joanna Burke
on Friday at the sanctuary.
(Sanford
Myers / The Tennesean)

"I wish there were, I wish there was something we could put
our finger on and say, well, if we had done something differently
this wouldn't have happened, but I can't."

Overnight, Winkie's right eyelid had
swelled, a result of what is believed
to be an insect bite, perhaps by fire ants.
Blais, co-founder of the Sanctuary, had
already examined the eye, which he said
was tender to the touch. Afterward, Blais
sat on the rear of the water trailer while
Burke handed the water hose to the elephant.

"Winkie was calm," Blais said.

However, when Burke, who has been a handler
for about eight years, moved to Winkie's
right-hand side to look at the swollen eye, Blais said, the animal spun its massive
head around, knocking her backward. Then the 7,600-pound animal moved
forward and crushed the woman to death.

Acting by instinct, Blais spoke to Winkie,
trying to distract and calm the animal.
In the process, the elephant lashed out
at him, too, breaking Blais' left ankle
and bruising him in several places.

Recounting his story for reporters, Blais
often wiped away tears. More flowed a
few minutes later when Mark Burke, brother
of the dead woman, thanked Blais for
putting his life in jeopardy to help
save his sister.

"You did everything you could,'' said Mark Burke, hugging
Blais.

Joanna Burke's father and mother, Paul
and Carol of Mansfield, Mass., also addressed
reporters for the first time Monday.

Paul Burke recalled the time his daughter
told him she was quitting graduate school,
even though she was only a semester away
from an advanced degree in communications.

"'I'm going to help animals,' she told me. I told her there's
no money in animals. That did not matter to her,'' the father said.

"She found the Sanctuary and I was so pleased that she was
contributing in a way that was meaningful. I'm so proud of my daughter."

Carol Burke took comfort her daughter "was happy here."

Paul Burke said her daughter often asked
him to pray for the elephants. "She loved her girls,'' he said.

On Monday, officials of The Elephant
Sanctuary announced changes in the facility's
protocol for physical contact with Winkie.

"We will never allow another handler to have physical contact
out there with an elephant that has a history" of aggression,
said Carol Buckley, executive director
of the facility for aging elephants on 2,200 acres in Lewis County.

In the future, Buckley said, only she
and Blais will place themselves in such
proximity to Winkie and any other elephant
that has a history of aggressive behavior.

Winkie came to The Elephant Sanctuary
in 2000 after spending about 30 years
at a zoo in Madison, Wis. There she had
a history of attacking handlers.

"These animals are the way they are because of human interference," Blais
said.

At Monday's press conference, The Elephant
sanctuary announced that Winkie would
not be euthanized for killing her handler,
a decision the Burkes endorsed.

"She would not want punitive action taken against Winkie, against
any elephant on the Sanctuary,'' said Mark Burke.

"We're in total agreement," added Carol Burke.

A funeral service for Joanna Burke will
be held Wednesday at McDonald Funeral
Home, 20 West 2nd St. in Hohenwald. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m.
and the funeral will begin at 11 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., a picnic to celebrate Burke's
life will be held at Meriwether Lewis Park just off the Natchez Trace
Parkway.

Burke will be buried in a private sunset
ceremony on the grounds of The Elephant
Sanctuary.